1,721,110 research outputs found
Tax evasion and tax morale. A social network analysis
No full textWe study the effects of tax morale and social norms on tax evasion when individuals interact in a network. We present a model that incorporates incentives for tax compliance in the form of punishment and fines, tax morale, and reputation for social behaviour. We assume that individuals adjust their tax morale by observing the neighbours' tax morale. We simulate the model for different values of the parameters and show that the steady-state share of taxpayers as opposed to tax-evaders is affected by the probability of finding like-minded peers in the reference group (network integration), the weight that individuals attribute to reputation, and the share of individuals who update their tax morale. Last, we consider the possibility of a fiscal authority using the knowledge of the network structure and targeting ‘central’ individuals. We show that by positively affecting the tax morale of individuals whose influence within the network is high, a fiscal authority can increase tax compliance
Mass media and preferences for redistribution
No full textThis paper investigates how mass media potentially act on preferences for redistribution. Our hypothesis is that media contribute to shaping the value system of a person, which affects support for redistribution. A theoretical model is proposed which combines demand- and supply-driven media bias. On the demand side, the model considers two types of individuals: non-partisan, whose values are influenced by the media, and partisan, who have strong opinions not affected by the media. We assume that although partisan individuals prefer unbiased information, they hold beliefs that they like to be confirmed; therefore, they tend to consume media with an ideological position similar to theirs. On the supply side, we focus on interest groups’ pressure on media coverage. Our results suggest that the anti-equality lobby is willing to pay more than the competing lobby. Moreover, we show that media bias is a decreasing function of the advertising revenues and an increasing function of the relative weight of ideology vs pluralism in individuals’ demand for media. Adding a second media outlet reduces the likelihood of media bias but not its extent. Finally, if both lobbies are active, the two outlets’ ideological positions are polarised
Intergenerational Upward (Im)mobility and Political Support of Public Education Spending
Full text linkThis paper provides a simple model of hierarchical education to study the political determination of public education spending and its allocation between different tiers of education. The model integrates private education decisions by allowing parents, who are differentiated according to income and human capital, to top up public expenditures with private transfers. We identify four groups of households with conflicting preferences over the the size of the public education budget and its allocation. In equilibrium, public education budget, private expenditures and expenditure allocation among different tiers of education, depend on which group of households is in power and on country-specific features such as income inequality and intergenerational persistence in education. By running a cluster analysis on 32 OECD countries, we seek to establish if distinctive ‘education regimes’, akin to those identified in the theoretical analysis, could be discerned. Our main finding is that a high intergenerational persistence in education might foster the establishment of education regimes in which the size and the allocation of the public budget among different tiers of education prevent a stable and significant increase of the population graduation rate, thus plunging the country in a ‘low education’ trap
Flux dynamics in iron-based superconductors
No full textThe newly discovered iron-based superconductors share a common layered structure. After the iron pnictide (1111) family, other iron-based superconductors such as the iron chalcogenides FeTe1-xSex (11) family have been synthesized. The latter system, characterized by a simple crystal structure, represents an interesting reference system. Indeed, all iron-based superconductors have a stacked structure composed of a layer of iron atoms linked by tetrahedrally coordinated pnictogens (P, As) or a chalcogen (Se, Te) anion: the active layer. The latter is either simply stacked together, as in the FeSe (11), or separated by spacer layers with alkali (e.g., Li), alkaline earth (e.g., Ba), or rare earth oxides/fluorides. In this contribution, we present an ac multiharmonic susceptibility study of the flux dynamic in representative 1111 and 11 iron-based superconductors. Data analysis has been performed in the glass-weak pinning scenario. In particular, the comparison of the third harmonic components vs. temperature and magnetic field returned information on pinning strength and dimensionality. Although in the presence of large thermal fluctuations, because of the high Tc, susceptibility data points out a three-dimensional flux dynamic and, unexpectedly, an increase of the pinning amplitude in the Fe-based superconductor systems where the spacer layer is present. © 2002-2011 IEEE
Political support to public debt repudiation in a Monetary Union: the role of the geographical allocation of debt
No full textThe main arguments for the Stability and Growth Pact turn on the need to protect the European Central Bank against
inflationary pressures from the fiscally prodigal countries (repudiation through inflation). Taking a political economy
approach, in this paper we inquire into the conditions under which national governments may reach the decision for a partial
or total repudiation of their debt. The main result produced by our model is that a debt management policy of lowering
effective yields might be the dominant option for a self-interested government whose creditors consist in part of
non-residents. On the basis of such result we argue that the impact of the fiscal position of the various member
countries on the stability of EMU does not depend on the stock of debt but on the proportion of it that is held [email protected]
Inequality, redistribution and the allocation of public spending in education. A political-economy approach
Full text linkThe incidence of public expenditure in education appears to be skewed in favour of the middle
and upper classes. This paper inquires into the determinants of this bias using a political economy approach.
We develop a model with two time periods with an election occurring between the two. In the first period,
agents differ in their initial wealth. In the second period, differences in wealth are combined with
differences in income. In the first period, the incumbent government issues debt to finance public spending
in education and decides how to allocate available resources between primary and tertiary education. Both
increase aggregate income, but while investment in primary education reduces income inequality, investment
in tertiary education increases it. At the beginning of the second period, a two-party electoral competition
is held and probabilistic voting decides the winner. By varying the parameters of the linear income tax, the
elected policy-maker can redistribute resources between low and high income individuals, while by choosing a
debt default rate she can renege on the promise to fully repay public obligations, redistributing resources
from bond-holders to tax-payers. We show that the investment in primary education might not be (politically)
viable. Intuitively, investment in primary education, by reducing income inequality with respect to wealth
inequality, might increase the desired debt default rate of future policy makers, making issuing debt to
finance primary education [email protected]
Bribery and Public Debt Repudiation
No full textIn cases where policy makers accept "bribes" offered by organised lobbies or interested parties, government decisions can be modelled as a first price menu auction. In this paper we adapt this structure to model debt repudiation. We consider a one-period model in which two generations, parents and children, are present, and debt titles are unevenly distributed among parents. The government can repay the debt by a combination of taxes on the children's income and on the outstanding debt. We exclude intergenerational conflicts, assuming that the parents' and children's objective is to maximise the utility of the family. In this perspective, families make offers that relate monetary contributions to the tax structures chosen by the government. On the hypothesis that all interests are represented, we obtain the result that the government is indifferent to the tax structure
Nonuniversal temperature dependencies of the low-frequency ac magnetic susceptibility in high-T-c superconductors
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